1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of splints and is particularly directed to a new hand splint as hereinafter described.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, many types of materials have been used to form splints for the support of parts of the body.
Wood has long been used as a readily available lightweight splinting material in conjunction with bandages to hold the splint in place on the part of the body to be supported. While wood has the advantage of lightweight, low cost and availability, it suffers disadvantages of nonconformity to the part of the body to be supported. Also, its rigid nature does not allow for change in form.
In an attempt to overcome some of these deficiencies, other materials have been used in place of wood. These have included for example, metal in various forms, as well as castable materials such as plaster and plastics. The substitution of such materials did provide certain advantages, mainly consisting of conformity to the body part to be supported. However, they added other disadvantages.
For example, the use of metals, plasters and the like increased the weight of the splint which is highly undesirable. In addition, the hardness of these materials caused pressure points to develop and did not allow for any compensation for swelling. The result was added discomfort to the patient.
The casting materials required considerable time, not only in the casting procedure, but also in the setting time. Also, heat was often required, which was not usually well tolerated by the patient. The rigid nature did not allow for swelling or change requiring frequent replacement of casts. These were also subject to soiling and disintegration if wet, so that bathing remained an irritating problem. Other types of splints required special tools for the forming thereof, adding also to the time required for fitting.
In the splinting of arthritic patients, it is desirable that splints be easily formed to the user's hand and at the same time be capable of further adjustment. Also, it is desirable that such a splint be readily removable for readjustment as well as for patient comfort and to allow bathing.
From the standpoint of comfort, it has been found to be desirable that a splint be well ventilated, soft and strong, yet light in weight, and have long-lasting, nonrustable parts. Until the present time, there has been no such splint available which has embodied all of the above described advantages.